Social skill of the week...before the big day of deliciousness

Yesterday I had Brody lean over and spit into Cole's bowl. Yes, you heard me correctly, spit.

Mom : " Brody are you kidding me? Knock it off we NEVER spit in other people's food......gross, don't you ever do that again!!!"

Brody: (Knowing he is full on guilty.) " LET'S SING SONGS!!!"

So on that "note" ......Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Business of the day

This morning was one of those blur kinda mornings. For some reason Kate thought waking up at 4:40 was a good idea. I on the other hand thought letting her cry it out was a good idea. Instead I lay in bed and tried my hardest not to hear her for the next hour ( and then some) until it was useless-I finally had to get up to start the day. My niece was on her way over at 6:30 in the a.m. to catch a ride to school so Friday was up and running. Cold, dark, rainy, exhausted mornings are such a treat. My routine in the mornings are as follows:
-immediately put on work out clothes so there are no excuses
-get breakfast for boys
-make lunches
-take Jack to school
-come home workout before Kate arises
As I am doing all of these things I am constantly listening to my favorite talk radio hosts. Today was no different .......topic of utmost importance: the health care bill that is being shoved down our throats and tomorrow the senate is scheduled to vote. I won't bore you with all of my thoughts on the matter but my point is this. I have had the names and phone numbers of senate democrats on my counter this whole week. Each day that I heard something insanely maddening about what they were trying to do I wrote it down so I could remember that point. It was my goal to call every single democrat that was so called "on the fence" about the bill and voice my concern. Well this morning as I made pancakes for the youngins (with a sleep deprived headache)-I decided that I couldn't waste anymore time. I began dialing like a mad woman...1 202 224 5824-that my friends is senator Mary Landrieu's (of the great state of Louisiana) office #. Her number has been a busy signal all day long. Hmmm, I wonder why? On the fence huh? Do you think that slime ball majority leader Harry Reid buying her vote with a ONE HUNDRED MILLION dollar additional relief package for her state alone has anything to do with it? I continued though...all morning, all busy signals. Then finally a ring...and then an actual person, "Senator Kent Conrad's office please hold..." I was ON....I was nervous....what would I say? I looked over my notes and thought how this piddily phone clerk could care less about what I had to say but I had to say it. He came back on and I proceeded to plead with him on behalf of the majority of Americans who oppose this bill (and every poll will show that )to vote NO. Please tell senator Conrad who claims to be pro life that there is nothing positive about this disaster - especially federal funding for abortions that WILL remain in the bill no matter how the media tries to twist it. I asked him to vote on principle and not politics. He was polite and said with a little chuckle that they have received a lot of calls. I hope they have. I pray that it will make some sort of difference. In case you feel so inclined to drop Senator Kent Conrad (ND)a little ringy dingy his number is 1 202-224 -2043. He is one of 4 pro life democrats who are on the "fence" concerning abortion in this bill. I already heard that Ben Nelson of Nebraska has caved and will still vote yes. Insane. Maddening. Scary. So after feeling a little success in my dialing efforts and taking the kids to school it was time to work out my frustrations.


This is my favorite friend as of late. My sweet Kyle finally brought her in from the cold and heartless barn so we could re-connect. Do you see those little dots all over ....that's my sweat, and it felt reeeally good. Especially on days when your brain turns on at 4:40 a.m. and is constantly filled with crying, and lunch making, and bum wiping, and insane politicians, and fear for my country and wanting to make a difference. So on this day I went 3 miles which is huge for me. Thank you Earth, Wind, and Fire, Mary J. Blige, Hall and Oates, Pointer Sisters, Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, The Cure, New Order,Gwen Steffani and all my other Ipod peeps. My 'treadmill time' was much needed and much appreciated. Now, back to dialing, I have some senators to contact.

In need of an asprin

It's Saturday and I have a splitting headache. Causes: 1. I'm wearing a hat today (not a wash hair kinda morning) 2. Kate is still screaming (not a nap kinda afternoon) 3. I'm starving (I guess not a preparing meals kinda day) and 4. my kids keep tattling....how is that spelled?



And YA WANNA KNOW THEE WORST.....I AM OUT OF BLACK INK CARTRIDGES ( and I was even already at Walmart this very morning) AND NOW MY PRINTER IS STUCK AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS FINISH MY BLASTED RELIEF SOCIETY LESSON WITH OUT LITTLE BOYS WHINING FOR CANDY AND COMPLAINING THAT THEIR BROTHER IS MOCKING THEIR SNOWMAN EXPLORER OUTFIT.



-No I haven't seen your Pirates of the Caribbean gun.

-Yes you can have a Hershey Kiss thingy

-No you may not have a juice box

-No I haven't seen your water bottle.



Then this guy pipes up on the stairs next to me and creepily says..." Hi Jack, you wanna play?" I ask you......when will his batteries die?

NO..I just want my baby to stop crying, my boys to stop arguing, my lesson to be done and presentable, and a gigantic hunk of meat perfectly seasoned and prepared (with a lovely salad on the side) on my dinner table STAT!

Halloween festivites and free advice

Just so everyone is aware: "Nevo eat "newds" standing up. They-o bound to bounce all o-vo the place." -Cole

And...you're welcome.

I'm just a big fan of October in general. You add a fabulously fun holiday like Halloween and a few dozen pumpkins and I'm good to go. I'd have to say that this year's festivities were my favorite so far. Yea, I'm gonna go with that answer.

The day was just right. Kyle worked in the backyard all day. I cooked all day. The boys played all day. And Kate was a dollhead all day. My cute sis-in-law Jen and 2 of her 3 little ladies + her parents (whom I adore) were in town from Utah and came over for dinner before trick or treating. My folks along with favorite uncle Jens came as well. With culinary inspiration oozing (thankyou dear PW) I managed to make 2 big pots of pretty darn delicious soup and carmel corn for dessert. Nothing like yummy soup and corn dogs for a crisp Halloween night

Dash, Mrs. Potato head (cousin Bergen) , Indiana Jones, and Buzz

Man have we gotten our moneys worth outta these costumes.

My cute festive mom in her fantastic orangey sweater.

Matchy matchy orange squared cousins Kate and Quincy.

I let the boys keep a baggie full of their favorite treats and sold all the rest to a local orthodontist. $18 bucks later and we are done!

the day

It's already after 3:00. Where has my day gone? I had such high hopes for accomplishing things. Instead I'm casually perusing blogs trying to find :

1. a dresser. My bedroom is still holding onto a few boxes. Boxes which contain random pairs of pajama pants, a gazillion pairs of tights(I don't know how I have accumulated this many seeins that I only wear them in winter...sometimes) old swim suits, Kyle's long johns for hunting, ya know...those crucial pieces that make any outfit complete.

2. rugs. Our lovely new home has heated concrete floors. I have always loved the rustic look of concrete floors and agreed to them on the terms that they wouldn't be freezing. They are not freezing, they are coldish. Thus, I need rugs.

3.earrings. I don't need earrings, I just love them and would love to buy them everyday. But I don't. grr.

I did do 4 loads of laundry, that's impressive. Especially now that the timer on my dryer went out and I have to set another timer and make sure I hear that one so my clothes don't burn up or shrink to smithereens. Neither would be cool.

I did do my Biggest Loser workout again. I'm on a roll. Well, trying to avoid literally being rollish is my goal. Getting to my happy place "gym" isn't in the cards right now with the family schedule so I've got to do something and beautiful Bob is my something . It felt good. On the BL topic my feelings are this: I do not enjoy Tracy or Daniel or the old obnoxious southern lady with yucky painted nails who just rubs me the wrong way every time she opens her mouth which is far too frequent. I'm done with all of them.

So now the bus will be here shortly and the older fellas will return and "my day" will be over. I have successfully not gotten to the store, returned the movies, or mailed off bills. However, I did find some fantastic earrings on Etsy and Brody found some yogurt and Kate finally found her napping place. All is well.

The latest goings on....

It's a total "fallish" cold and misty Sunday night and I love it. Jack and I have returned from successfully delivering pumpkin sugar cookies to our new neighbors. Woop de doo you may say but seeins that Kyle didn't exactly put his "best foot forward" on the neighborly kindness gig with the one gal.....I had to step in and wave the white flag of neighbor love. I chose to wave that flag with a plate of cookies. I think it worked. The other neighbors have 3 dogs...... very, very active/hyper/nerve racking dogs. I don't do dogs. I'll have you know that I held that plate of cookies as high in the air as possible shaking like a leaf while being "welcomed" down the driveway by Kugo and company. All cookies were delivered, no harm was done and my sweatshirt is soaking in prewash. Wet dog paws....grrrrrrrrr.

We had our primary program today and Jack and Cole were great. Poor Mr. Cole wasn't feeling so hot so we let him go for just sac. mtg. I always feel bad for the parents whose kids freak out and freeze or who scream into the microphone. I sure appreciate my boys memorizing their parts, singing the songs, going to the Saturday dress practice and having a great attitude about church. It's what we do and my sweet little boys help strengthen my testimony today. I loved watching them sing and I have to admit that I choked up just a smidgen watching Jack sing "I know He lives." What a great song. I had never sung it before and I absolutely loved it. This was my first time in 3 years not leading the primary music or being involved somehow so it was actually nice just to sit and enjoy.

So, besides the big program these are the highlights of the week:

Let's start with this little dollhead. While she is currently screaming in her swing, I am choosing to remember the sweet sweet fact that she did indeed sleep through the night last night. Besides that she's been wearing her fancy new red shoes like it's nobodys business.

This kid learned how to "thumbs up" this week. We've also been puzzle crazy around here and you put those 2 activities together and you get one happy Brody.


Mr. Cole has had a pretty bummer week. We don't speak of the fact that he missed "Pajama day" due to his blasted cough and fever. Poor kid was a trooper and made it through his speaking part today with flying colors after chewing his cough drop at the microphone. Love this kid.

Jack is a reading machine. His latest achievement.. a juicy chapter book about the young Boba Fett. To my dismay but not surprise, he really prefers Star Wars over Ramona Quimby. I love that he has started quietly reading to himself in the morning before he comes down for breakfast. He's even reading the Book of Mormon on his own and I'm just so proud of his cute little 7 year old self.

As for me I thought I'd share my 2 favorite things as of late.

-My turbo microwave/oven combo that gives me the option of: #1. melt or #2. soften butter AND cream cheese AND defrosts meat to the utmost perfection. I love it. And... of course my Mickey pumpkin. His return each fall makes me smile. I am easily pleased!

Reasons # 346, 347, and 348 why I love having a girl..

Is it wrong that I enjoy this look so much?